Jaelyn Campbell/CBT News A U.S. appeals court ruled Monday that the Federal Trade Commission’s (FTC) new regulations, which aimed to ban bait-and-switch tactics and prevent auto dealers from charging add-on costs that do not benefit buyers, are invalid. The 5th Circuit Court of Appeals, in a 2-1 decision, sided with...

Zachary Turner/WFAE Radio In Gaston County, Albemarle is draining the old Kings Mountain mine to reopen it and extract the key ingredient for many rechargeable batteries: lithium. The company started drying out the mine last spring. The company expected some smells to come from the decomposed materials at the bottom...

Ashley Roque, Valerie Insinna & Aaron Mehta/Breaking Defense The defense industry is in a state bordering between confusion and panic, following what could be a pause awarding new Army contracts as the service reviews its plans under the Trump administration. The fear among industry now is that this move is...

Kanis Leung/The Associated Press Chinese tech startup DeepSeek ’s new artificial intelligence chatbot has sparked discussions about the competition between China and the U.S. in AI development, with many users flocking to test the rival of OpenAI’s ChatGPT. DeepSeek’s AI assistant was the No. 1 downloaded free app on Apple’s...

Vicki Hyatt/The (Waynesville) Mountaineer Many who lost their homes during Fred in 2021 were hit all over again by Helene in 2024. But Alex Robb of Cruso, who rebuilt his home 8 feet higher after Fred, escaped the Pigeon River’s wrath the second time around. His story offers assurance that...

Pat Kimbrough/The High Point Enterprise A Charlotte commercial real estate investment firm has acquired 80,500 square feet of vacant industrial space in southeast High Point. An affiliate of JTM Capital last week purchased three buildings in the 1200 block of Hickory Chapel Road that were previously occupied by a company...

Rose Hoban/NC Health News Medical and biomedical researchers across North Carolina are used to pondering some of the most vexing questions in health and biology, but a directive issued last week by President Donald Trump left many without answers when it came to the future of their life-saving and life-enhancing...

Zachery Eanes & Lucille Sherman/Axios Raleigh UNC Health and Duke Health, the Triangle’s two largest health care providers, will join forces to open a new children’s hospital in the Triangle with financial backing from the state, multiple sources familiar with the plans told Axios. Why it matters: The hospital, which...

John Boyle/Asheville Watchdog In its first appearance at a Tropical Storm Helene briefing since before Christmas, the Asheville Water Resources Department delivered more good news for customers regarding lead testing results and improving turbidity at North Fork Reservoir. Spokesperson Clay Chandler said the water system has returned to full corrosion...

Emily Walkenhorst/WRAL News North Carolina schools are increasingly struggling to hire and retain qualified special education teachers, leaving some students without properly trained faculty who know how to provide specialized services. A worsening shortage of such teachers is also leaving schools vulnerable to state scrutiny over whether they’re following special...

Chantal Brown/Education NC The education policy-making process in North Carolina can seem complex, even to the State Board of Education members themselves. “In fact, it’s often confusing and frustrating – the variety of laws and policies don’t always seem to align,” Eric Davis, the Board’s chair, said. “They typically inhibit...

Liz Schlemmer/WUNC Radio Even after some belt-tightening measures were put in place earlier this school year, Durham Public Schools’ Superintendent Anthony Lewis says the district is expecting a nearly $7 million budget shortfall that will need to be addressed this year. “Our most pressing challenge is ensuring the financial stability...

Aarik Long/The (Waynesville) Mountaineer Haywood County Schools cafeterias posted a loss of $700,000 last year. And school closures from winter weather and the flood isn’t helping matters this year. The impact of snow days has been felt by Haywood County School’s school cafeteria staff, not only in the amount of...

Brighton McConnell/WCHL Chapelboro Two additions to the UNC campus, a cutting-edge health research building and a chilled water plant, earned design approval by the Board of Trustees on Thursday. Meanwhile, two other major projects saw spending approved to advance their planning efforts: a new residence hall and an expansion of...

Iris Seaton/Asheville Citizen Times The Centers for Disease Control announced the first human death from H5N1 avian flu or “bird flu” in the United States on Jan. 6 — and the illness continues to spread. In a Jan. 6 news release, the CDC said there have been 66 confirmed cases...